Furniture

12/11/2015

Finally, a desk that acknowledges all we want to do at work is be horizontal.

Maybe you slouch in your Aeron chair. Maybe you tried—and failed—to make using a standing desk a habit. Maybe, like me, your preferred working position is curled up on a sofa.

Is it time for an ergonomic desk and chair that lazy people will actually want to use?

Is it time for an ergonomic desk and chair that lazy people will actually want to use? (Click Image To Enlarge)

The new Altwork Station, designed by aerospace engineers, has a standing and sitting position. But it also reclines fully into a "zero g" position—basically as comfortable as being in bed—with a monitor, laptop, and mouse floating the proper distance away above you.

The new Altwork Station, designed by aerospace engineers, has standing, sitting and laying down positions (Click Image To Enlarge)

"We end up sitting like this. You can make one of two choices: you can say you're going to sit in this uncomfortable position because it's more protective of your body. Or, I think we can go the other route, which is, how about we just let people work the way they want to?"

The Altwork Station reclines fully into a "zero-g": position -- basically as comfortable as being in bed (Click Image To Enlarge)

At the push of a button, the desk can tweak the position of everything or fully shift back into sitting or standing. As the back moves, the monitor moves with your eyes, the desk moves with your hands, and the back headrest shifts slightly in or out to best support your head. Throughout the day, in theory, you'll keep changing position (that is, if you don't get too comfortable lying down).

Co-founder Che Voigt, demonstrating a slump in a typical office chair, says. "You can make one of two choices: you can say you're going to sit in this uncomfortable position because it's more protective of your body. Or, I think we can go the other route, which is, how about we just let people work the way they want to?" (Click Image To Enlarge)

Voigt says.

"You push a button, move something for literally half a second, but all your stuff's there. You don't have to readjust. That's the barrier. We think sitting's bad for you, we think standing's bad for you, we don't think being in 'zero g' all the time is going to be good for you. We think being able to move, being able to easily change positions without even thinking about it, is the solution."

At the push of a button, the desk can tweak the position of everything or fully shift back into normal sitting position (Click Image To Enlarge)

Instead of someone conforming to a desk, the desk conforms to them. Voigt points to an old photo of an early office, where a typist sits hunched over a typewriter. He says.

"We blame our smartphones, but it's not our phones, not our computers. It's this idea that the machine goes on a flat surface, and we bend to the machine."

As the back moves, the monitor moves with your eyes, the desk moves with your hands, whether you are sitting, laying down or standing (Click Image To Enlarge)

The startup began developing the desk after another co-founder had injured his back, and he hacked together a reclining workstation because it was the only way to work comfortably. When he recovered, he realized he didn't want to go back to a regular desk.

Five years later, after over $1 million invested in development and a long line of prototypes and overcoming several engineering problems, the workstations are finally ready for manufacture.

You push a button, move something for literally half a second, but all your stuff's there (Click Image To Enlarge)

The target users: Anyone who's stuck in front of a computer all day long. In some offices, that might be almost everyone. Voigt says.

"You could imagine walking into an office of high intensity computer user type of people—engineers, software developers—and desks could be replaced by this. It would look like the business class cabin on a jet."

In other offices, the workstations might be mixed in with other types of desks. Though the design seems somewhat sprawling in person—especially compared to a seat at a table in an open office—at 18 square feet, it's actually smaller than a standard cubicle. It's also on wheels, so it can roll to the side, if needed, in a home office.

I spent a half hour reclining in the chair as I talked with Voigt, and leaning all the way back is as comfortable as it looks. The designers think that comfort leads to better work. Voigt says.

"I've found myself to feel more creative, I feel like I do better work, I can get deeper into what I'm working on, when I can get that quiet, focused period,"

Leaning back could also serve as a signal to others that you shouldn't be disturbed. Jim Shissler, the startup's marketing lead, says.

"We have a theory that when you get into that reclined position, it's a visual cue to other folks—leave me alone, I need to think."

Voigt continues.

"Yes, it looks like furniture, but we don't see ourselves in the furniture business. This is a productivity tool. That's slightly different but really important to us. This whole thing is designed around the person, but when we make decisions, the first thing we think about is how can we make a high intensity computer user more productive and more comfortable. We think the comfort creates creativity, and with productivity creates your best work."

The catch? It starts at $3,900. The company is taking preorders now, and the chairs will be delivered mid-next year.

COMMENTARY: The above images do not do the Altwork Station any justice. Here's a YouTube video that demonstrates the ergonomic and humanistic capabilities of this new productivity tool.

Love the Altwork Station. It is so 21st century. NASA should take note.

The adjustable standing desk allows you to mix up your posture throughout the day, but top models cost as much as $1,600. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Clearly, it’s time to ditch the office chair, but standing desks can get pricey, especially the adjustable kind, which let you mix sitting and standing throughout the day.

On Kickstarter, StandDesk's basic model costs less than $400. (Click Image To Enlarge)

The company has raised more than 10 times its funding goal since April 2014. (Click Image To Enlarge)

StandDesk, a new standing desk model being launched on Kickstarter (where it has raised more than 10 times its target since April), is a cheaper solution. The basic model, which has a simple automated system to raise and lower the desk at the touch of a button, starts at less than $400. Not quite as cheap as a cardboard desk, but not $1,600 either.

The creators say the lower price comes from designing a custom motor that doesn’t have as much extra lifting power as other standing desks. It’s only designed to lift 225 pounds--enough to hoist your computer and desk gadgets, though maybe don’t put every textbook you own on it. It’s a clean, simple design with no frills, just a smooth tabletop and a small control panel. Considering that I spend my days curled over my desk in a bizarre yoga pose called, “becoming one with the laptop,” I’m on board.

The desk raises and lowers at the touch of a button. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Clearly, it’s time to ditch the office chair. (Click Image To Enlarge)

COMMENTARY: Steven Yu, the founder of StandDesk raised a total of $649,244 from 1,697 donors through Kickstarter. The goal was to raise $50,000, but StandDesk raised over 12 times that. Congrats to Steven Yu. The first batch of pre-orders from the Kickstarter campaign are scheduled for delivery sometime in September 2014.

According to the StandDesk website, you can still pre-order the StandDesk directly from them for $449.00 with FREE shipping. Delivery in the fourth quarter 2014. I assumed that these new pre-orders will be after the Kickstarter project donors receive theirs.

I like what Yu is doing. Let's just hope that he priced the StandDesk properly so they can generate a profit.

06/01/2014

Parenthood -- it means you have to buy a lot of stuff. (Click Image To Enlarge)

NORWEGIAN DESIGN GROUP PERMAFROST HAS BUILT THE TRANSFORMERS OF BABY PRODUCTS FOR STOKKE.

They say parenthood changes you. It most certainly means you have to buy a lot of stuff--just leaving the hospital with the new bundle of joy requires having already purchased a car seat. Then there’s the bouncer for the living room, the highchair for eating meals, and so on and so forth.

In 1972 a Norwegian company called Stokke built a streamlined children's seating system that could accommodate babies as young as six months, up to kids around six or seven years old. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Now, Stokke has tapped Oslo-based design group Permafrost to add a baby bouncer to the adjustable seating system. (Click Image To Enlarge)

In 1972 a Norwegian company called Stokke rightly ascertained that parents could use a more streamlined system for plopping down their kids. They released the Tripp Trapp, an adjustable highchair seating system designed to grow up with kids, accommodating them from six months old to seven or so years old. Now, Stokke has tapped Oslo-based design group Permafrost with expanding the chairs utility yet again. It's called Stokke Steps, and it's an all-in-one bouncer seat and high chair.

The modular system allows for regular seating, napping, and a highchair for eating. (Click Image To Enlarge)

The original chair was meant for tots who had reached six months of age, but the new model can seat even a newborn baby who can't yet hold up its own head. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Permafrost (who created these sweet wooden kid’s toys) added a baby bouncer to the Stokke chair. Whereas the original chair was meant for tots who had reached six months of age, the new model can seat even a newborn baby who can't yet hold up its own head. To make a seat that could gently cradle a newborn, the Permafrost designers had to rethink the physics of the bouncer.

To do that well, the Permafrost designers had to rethink the physics of the bouncer. (Click Image To Enlarge)

They added two hinged legs to the seat, in addition to the traditional coil, to make the bouncer's motion gentler. (Click Image To Enlarge)

A standard bouncer has a spring in the front, near the baby's feet. That metal coil creates the swinging effect that can soothe a fussy kid, but because of its position, the chair moves in one direction. Permafrost dispersed the movement by adding a set of double-hinged legs. "Instead of just hopping up and down there is also a horizontal movement in the bouncer, creating a swing that mimics the cradling movement of a parents arms," says designer Tore Vinje Brustad.

"Instead of just hopping up and down there is also a horizontal movement in the bouncer, creating a swing that mimics the cradling movement of a parents arms," says Permafrost designer Tore Vinje Brustad. (Click Image To Enlarge)

The modularity of Stokke Steps revolves around a series of knobs that slide and then lock into place. Those circular mechanisms are meant to form a design language that communicates hotspots for operating the chair, while still looking stylishly unobtrusive. (Click Image To Enlarge)

They also tinkered with the technology that allows each piece to easily attach and then unfasten to the primary structure. “There are several different components that are adjustable and removable, and making the handling of these functions easy and intuitive… has been an exercise in simplifying and clarifying the design,” Vinje Brustad tells Co.Design. The modularity of Stokke Steps revolves around a series of knobs that slide and then lock into place. Those circular mechanisms are meant to form a design language that communicates hotspots for operating the chair, while still looking stylishly unobtrusive.

Because the team was committed to building the chair primarily in wood (“in order to differentiate ourselves from the usual highchairs that look more like hospital equipment,” says Vinje Brustad), they had to go through many iterations to ensure that the beech wood and thermoplastic materials could meet strength and safety requirements.

“In the end, the quality of the final product is often closely related to the number of iterations you make in the refinement phase,” Vinje Brustad says. “Whenever we think we’re done we force ourselves to make one more prototype, and usually there is room for one little adjustment and improvement.”

As for user testing? Vinje Brustad says the team did some gonzo research: “Three out of four Permafrost partners have had babies during the time that Stokke Steps has been developed, and they have all been put to work immediately.”

02/22/2014

While some Houzzers have outfitted entire homes and yards to accommodate their beloved cats, such measures may not be realistic for all. The good news: There are plenty of ways to make your home more comfortable and fun for your favorite feline without sacrificing style. Contemporary cat condos, wall-mounted trees, beds and even stylish litter box enclosures are available in the Houzz Products section.

The set of shelves of the Sophia Wall-Mounted Cat Tree not only acts as a cat tree, but one of the pieces also has room to keep books and kittyproof knickknacks, which helps the shelves blend in with the rest of the room. (If you’ll be displaying a plant, be sure to select one that’s safe for cats.) The other piece has an opening for your cat to climb through.

If your cat is the type who jumps onto the bed while you’re trying to change the sheets to get made up right in it, then he or she will love to snuggle up in the Microvelvet 17-inch Burrow Bed. It’s made for comfort with a waterproof base, supersoft microvelvet and stuffing.

“Stylish cat condo” is no longer an oxymoron. The Acacia Cat Treeis a kitty tree that will fit in with your decor and give your pets lots of climbing fun. It’s 3 feet high, giving your cats a perch for watching out the windows, and as an extra draw, it has removable Velcro scratching pads.

If your tastes lean more toward Philip Johnson’s Glass House, this boxy, Jenga-like Sebastian Modern Cat Tree climbing tree is for you and your Mr. Whiskers. Made of engineered wood, it comes in black or white.

Ugh, the dreaded litter box can ruin an entire room’s style, but not with this smart Designer Catbox Litter Box Enclosurecamouflaged as a piece of furniture. The litter pan, litter scoop and other accessories are completely hidden inside, and the lid lifts up for easy cleaning. The espresso-colored engineered wood piece is sturdy enough to serve as a bench.

If your baby prefers a crib-like place to sleep in, this raised Kittypod bed could be worth the splurge. Remember how much they like the feel of cardboard under body and paw. For extra comfort atop the industrial-strength corrugated cardboard, consider adding a Kittypod Shred (next).

You know the deal: Your cat has a favorite napping spot, perhaps on a chair with a light-colored seat cushion. Make your cat’s naps even better while saving your upholstery with this wool cat-size Kittypod Shred in Pink throw blanket. It also fits as a soft layer atop any of the Kittypod stands.

02/05/2014

We have to say we are usually very foreseeing when it comes to the new designs that are being created, but we really did not see this coming. Letto Zip comes from Florida Furnitureand is a dream came true for all those people who dislike making their beds in the morning. Its appearance can be changed by simply zipping and unzipping its stylish cover. This has a major effect on the overall room design, while in the same time being very practical for the user who can prepare the bed in a fast and simple way. The furniture piece is highly modern and elegant, perfect for a large variety of contemporary interiors. With a soft and slightly curved frame, this looks like a comfortable dreamy bed. Letto Zip comes in three charming color-combinations: white-red, gray-red and white-blue. Looks inviting?- via The Design Blog.

Click Images To Enlarge

COMMENTARY: Created by Italian outfit, Florida Furniture, the clever bunk is designed to let you skip folding the sheets, while leaving your sleeping area looking clean. How can that happen? By having a zip-up dress that covers the entire surface of the mattress, so when guests accidentally stumble in the room, they'll have no idea it is inhabited by lazy people.

The Letto Zip Bed measures 7.87 x 6.56 x 2.72 feet, with a mattress slightly smaller in dimensions so it can be covered up neatly for effective camouflaging. Zippers run along the entire edge of the bed, where you can attach a completely detachable cover that can also double as an extra blanket (just in case the comforter isn't enough).

Each bed uses padded frames with a slightly rounded look for that modernist bedroom aesthetic. They use Emmecia fabrics throughout the whole construction, in your choice of white, gray or blue pallettes for the outer side.

Back in the day, there were only two ways a messy bedroom inhabitant can get a clutter-free sleeping area: marry someone who doesn't mind doing it or hiring a maid. With the Letto Zip Bed, there's now a third course of action. We have no idea on pricing, but you can learn more about it from the Florida Furniture website.

NOTE: According to my research, Florida Furniture no longer exits. The domain floridafurniture.net and italianocuccina.it (another company associated with the bed maker) are both avaialble for sale

10/15/2013

Not all homes have the luxury of abundant space to grow and spread out in, especially when residing in a major city. But even with space lacking, there are ways you can design and layout your living space that makes it appear larger and increases functionality. You can include major furniture pieces and still add extra storage. You don't have to compromise on whether or not you can have an office space because if you use the space well, you can have both a full bedroom and office. This home in Taiwan designed by Folk Design, shows an excellent use of a small living space.

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This modern office space quickly becomes a bedroom retreat with a Murphy bed hiding in the wall. It is a smart use of the space as even when the bed is set up, you're still able to function in the office without interference.

Click Image To Enlarge

The space is used so well, there is even room for a small pet.

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What really helps keep this space open and efficient is the use of minimal design and clean lines. The furniture chosen also opens the space because instead of a clunky, enclosed desk, they opted for a fully functional table desk. The built-in shelving also provides ample storage without taking away square footage.

Click Image To Enlarge

The table desk design is impressive with hidden storage areas that can be used to provide extra shelves and a place to keep tissues without having a bulky box sitting on top. It keeps the desk top clean and clutter free which again only helps to make the space appear bigger than what it really is.

Click Image To Enlarge

Because the layout and design of the bedroom/office space was done so resourcefully, they were able to add a black piano to the room, which even though is quite large, still doesn't take away from the space or make it appear too small.

Click Images To Enlarge

What always helps in a small space is of course the use of great windows which give the illusion of a bigger space. It also adds a nice amount of natural light and brightens things up. This home has a quaint patio which is open to the inside space with large glass sliding doors.

Click Image To Enlarge

The minimalist kitchen design gives full functionality for cooking, yet doesn't take up too much of the home. And again, with the patio right outside the large glass doors, this smaller kitchen space appears much larger.

A home doesn't have to be large to have multiple uses. It also doesn't have to be clutter some or closed off. You can keep a space open and bright if you give it the right design.

COMMENTARY: Just love the utter simplicity and optimal use of space driven by minimalist design and beds hidden into the walls.

09/12/2013

Colleagues can easily collaborate in small groups in this quiet location in Vodafone’s Amsterdam office. (Click Image To Enlarge)

COULD A “PALETTE OF PLACE” GIVE WORKERS CONTROL AND CHOICE OVER WHERE AND HOW THEY WORK? ONE COMPANY GOES DEEP INTO WORK SPACE.

Ask workers what bugs them most about the office, and chances are they’ll tell you they can’t concentrate or focus on their work.

At Steelcase, we regularly survey workers from diverse industries, job types, locations and age groups about their workplace satisfaction, and for years the number one issue has stayed the same: 95.3% of workers say having “access to quiet, private places for concentrated work” is important, but over 41% say they don’t have them. That’s a big problem for all workers, but especially for introverts (estimated at one-third to half of the population), who recharge their batteries by being alone. It’s an even bigger issue for organizations that employ both introverts and extroverts and who need to leverage the strengths of all workers as they strive to be more innovative and nimble in a competitive climate.

Several factors contribute to this lack of quiet and privacy, regardless of whether we’re wired more toward intro- or extroversion. The shift toward mobile work has left tribes of nomads with limited options for concentrated work. Sometimes the local coffee shop is a great option, at least for anonymity, but even the best ear buds can’t tune out those toddlers at the next table. And our technology devices are a constant source of interruption, constantly tugging at us for attention. Places that used to be our last refuge for privacy, like our homes, and even our bedrooms, have become extensions of our workplaces, where interruptions can barge in with a single alert or silly ringtone. Perhaps the biggest culprit is actually our quest for interaction and collaboration--both of which are critical components of innovation and essential to high-performance companies. The pitfall for some organizations is the assumption that group work is the exclusive means to an innovative end. Design some cool-looking collaboration areas in the middle of an open office plan, with lots of traffic from nearby workers, throw in some beanbag chairs or fake grass floor covering and brilliant ideas will spontaneously erupt . . . right?

Steelcase’s new Innovation Center at its Grand Rapids, Michigan, headquarters offers plenty of collaborative zones, but there are also spaces like these for quiet, focused work to let ideas develop. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Sometimes. For some people. Take my colleague Katie, for instance, who draws energy and motivation from groups of people and lots of stimuli. Testing as an extrovert on quizzes from both authors Susan Cain (Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking) and Daniel Pink (To Sell is Human), she is happiest among a big group of boisterous creative types, with lots of sensory stimulation. You’ll often find her working in the café, interacting with a variety of people as she works on a new idea. But even Katie has moments when she needs to get away and focus, either alone or with a small group.

Conversely, another colleague, Uli, thrives when she has access to areas where she can control the sensory stimulation, eliminate noise disruptions, and engage in deep, focused work. When it’s time for the team to come together, she’s ready to contribute new ideas and participate in a group session to iterate and create. As for me, I’m a confirmed ambivert. It depends on a variety of factors: the type of work I’m doing, the tools I need, or the mood I’m in. Some days, I get my best thinking done when surrounded by people and activity. Other times, I need walls with full acoustical seals that shield me from disruptions (plus ear buds, for good measure).

Check out Drake Baer’s recent look at how organizations can benefit from embracing qualities of both introverts and extroverts. And recall that Cain struck a nerve within the corporate world by drawing attention to the needs of introverts and challenging the notion that creativity and innovation come exclusively from boisterous socialization. Cain makes the case that people are more creative when they enjoy privacy and freedom from interruption and notes that even extroverts need time for contemplation and focused, individual work. Our research at Steelcase corroborates this point--we all need time to ourselves. To read. To think. To reflect.

Some workers choose to retreat from the structure of their day and relocate for a few hours to these comfortable spaces in Steelcase’s WorkCafé that create a “palette of place” throughout their workday. (Click Image To Enlarge)

The point is, whether you’re an extrovert or introvert, we can’t expect workplaces designed with a cookie-cutter approach to help us do our best work. We need a range of spaces that are created for both group and individual work, some that are assigned and others shared. Some in the middle of activity, and others tucked out of the way. At Steelcase, we call it a “palette of place” that offers workers control and choice over where and how they work. It is organized in zones for different kinds of work that allow people to amp up or down the degree of sensory stimulation they want, and to signal their level of availability for interaction. It doesn’t require any more space than a conventional office and can actually use real estate more efficiently.

Providing sensory control is critical to employee well-being, especially for introverts who are more sensitive to stimuli. It’s important to integrate spaces that encourage people to retreat from the structure of the day, to renew and rest or gain fresh perspective. Employees should be able to control lighting, sound, and temperature, work in relaxed lounge or resting postures, and be free of interruptions. It’s equally important to provide spaces that allow workers to feel a physical connection with others, even when working alone.

One of our clients, Vodafone, created a space called Club 11 in their Amsterdam office that offers food, an outdoor terrace, and upbeat music. It’s fun and functional, but you wouldn’t mistake it for a library or choose it when you need quiet focus. The space for that is actually called the library, located in another zone, and one of the few places with rules about how people work: talking and phone calls are not allowed.

At Vodafone in Amsterdam, workers can quickly move into small rooms such as this one for solo, focused work or small group collaboration at Vodafone. (Click Image To Enlarge)

At Skype’s Palo Alto offices, collaboration is nurtured, and workers sit at benches that allow for an easy exchange of ideas. Yet, headphones are the respected way of signaling “leave me alone, I’m thinking,” and the company also offers a variety of small, private places for individuals who need quiet and less stimulation.

Steelcase’s WorkCafé at the company’s Grand Rapids, MI HQ is a space designed with a coffee shop vibe that’s a popular spot for both collaboration and solo, focused work, in addition to eating and socializing. (Click Image To Enlarge)

We recently opened a new WorkCafé in our Grand Rapids, Michigan, headquarters, a space designed with a coffee shop vibe that is a great spot not only for eating but for all kinds of work--social, learning, collaboration, as well as focused. We found that 80% of our employees choose it for individual work at least some of the time. They know they might be interrupted, but they prefer to be near others.

Extroverts and introverts have plenty in common: They both need to feel like they’re connected to other people and to the organization. They also need quiet places where they can focus, reflect or recharge--it just might be in different degrees. Ultimately, they need workplaces with a range of spaces that allow them to choose what works best for them.

COMMENTARY: I have posted a number of articles about trends in the workplace and office furniture. Checkout my posts dated April 3, 2013 about Knoll's "Activity Spaces" office furniture line, my post dated September 26, 2011 about Steelcase's "cafe-like" Media:Space office furniture designed for social collaboration, my post dated March 30, 2012 about Herman Miller's Aeron chairs and the plant where they are manufactured, my post dated February 10, 2012 about Lego PMD's (Lego toys) corporate offices in Billud Denmark and how Lego toys are incorporated into their workplace, my post dated December 17, 2011 about how Plantronics, the famous headset maker, has designed offices for their telecommuting staffers, my post dated December 7, 2011 about the new office digs for the IT department of Switzerland's ATG, my post dated November 2, 2011 about the interior design of Twister's Restaurant that incorporates the look of tornados and rain in Kiev, Ukraine, and my post dated September 30, 2011 about Herman Miller's ergonomic "Envelop Desk."

Courtesy of an article dated August 30, 2013 appearing in Fast Company

08/06/2013

Trekking to IKEA is often an exercise in futility. The armchairs and bookcases never look as perfect in your cramped apartment as they do in the color-coordinated showrooms. After 15 minutes, you're tired and overwhelmed and you can't remember what you even came for.

Simply place the catalog in the spot where you're considering adding a new piece of furniture, scan the catalog with the augmented reality app on your mobile device and select the desired item.

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The augmented reality feature then projects the item into your home by layering it over a real-time view of your room captured through your device's camera. The app also lets you experience the scale of the objects in relation to your living space, as you can see in the video above.

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IKEA's 2013 catalog included smartphone integration, but only featured videos and photo galleries that could be accessed via an app by scanning the catalog's pages.

This year's catalog also includes several highly anticipated new releases, such as the Lövbacken table, a revival of the company's original flat-pack table produced in 1956.

The Lövbacken side table, originally sold by Ikea as the Lövet in 1956, will be making a come-back into stores in August (Click Image To Enlarge

Do you think IKEA's concept for an augmented reality catalog will catch on with other furniture sellers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

COMMENTARY: I have seen augmented reality apps used in the fashion retail industry for virtual reality dressing rooms. Users can see how a piece of apparel looks on them without having to go to the change room. One of the issues that I see with the app is the lighting differences between the IKEA furniture item and the room where that item will be placed. Subtle changes in lighting can make the item look out of place or mismatched with other furniture in that room. However, I do see some merits for this type of app. I don't know if scale is taken into consideration, or how it is handled, so simply superimposing an item in a room does not anser the question, whether there will be sufficient room for that item or how it will affect the overall room.

04/09/2013

Sometimes all it takes to form a great idea for a small business is someone noticing your talents. That’s how it happened for Lauren Russell, co-founder and creative director of the American-made-furniture company Russell & McKenna, now Maine Cottage.

Russell's husband, Kevin, a skilled woodworker, was renovating their Maryland home while Russell was freelancing as a marketing consultant and design artist. During a meeting in her home office with a client, Russell showed off a bathroom vanity that she had designed and Kevin built. The client was impressed with their work and immediately asked to hire Kevin to build one for her.

That one vanity led to an $18,000 order of 30 additional pieces for the client’s home. And so, from a few sketches and home power tools in a tiny garage, Maine Cottage was born in 2003.

Russell said.

“We didn't set out to start a business, let alone a furniture company. It sort of serendipitously found us.”

The money from their first client’s order would set the Russells well on their way to their new business. However, they couldn’t do it alone. Russell called her father, Larry Strassner, former CEO of a nuclear power plant maintenance company, to assist in putting together a business plan.

Russell said.

“He thought that we might be onto something and offered to step out of his retirement, which he had enjoyed for all of two weeks, to help us.”

Starting a business with family members would be daunting to some, but Russell told BusinessNewsDaily she has had a wholly positive experience working with the people closest to her. In fact, she attributes part of her company’s success to the fact that it involves a parent/child team.

She said.

“Our skill sets are complementary without overlapping. We have the added benefit of always assessing situations from different generational standpoints. Synergy and chemistry are critical to any successful partnership, and for us it is made easier because of our genetic bond. Neither of us can imagine that we would have come so far so fast working beside anyone else.”

In the seven years since Russell, her husband and her father started Russell & Mackenna (Now Maine Cottage), a lot has changed. In its first year, the company relocated from the Russells’ garage to a small warehouse where Kevin hand-made furniture kits for subcontractors to assemble. The "Made in the USA" operation quickly outgrew the warehouse and moved to a larger facility with manufacturing equipment.

In its fifth year, Maine Cottage established a partnership with another family-run furniture company to subcontract all of its pieces. The Maine Cottage flagship store opened in the Russells' hometown of Severna Park, Md., along Chesapeake Bay north of Annapolis.

Currently, the company's sales are approaching $5 million.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that all its products are hand-crafted in the U.S.. While the company has difficulty competing in price and scalability with companies that manufacture their products overseas, Russell says, there's pride and satisfaction in creating a domestic product, and that through strict material cost management, fixed labor costs, and selling to a high-end market, Maine Cottage is making a sizable profit.

One key advantage Maine Cottage has by manufacturing in the United States is the ability to work closely with its customers. Made-to-order items sold directly to consumers make up 60 percent of the company’s sales (the other 40 percent is split equally between wholesale and trade).

The customizable features on its made-to-order products allows the company to charge more, which has significantly affected its bottom line.

For now, Maine Cottage isn’t looking to move to mass-market retailing. The company is content selling to a niche market of customers who own a primary or secondary home in coastal resort areas. Time and time again, the company has found repeat business.

“Twenty percent of our customers are returning,” Russell said. “Once a customer realizes that we can make a desk smaller to fit into the nook under their steps, they are hooked.”

COMMENTARY: It is so refreshing to find a furniture manufacturer that produces its products in the U.S. Although they have a price disadvantage in competing with furniture makers producing overseas, they offer quality craftsmanship, built-to-order furniture, unique 'cottage style' furniture designs and great customer service. I really love their folksy, functional, comfortable and colorful furniture.

04/03/2013

ANTENNA’S NEW LINE FOR KNOLL IS PURPOSE-BUILT FOR THE SPONTANEOUS WORK ENCOUNTERS THAT OFTEN SPARK INNOVATION.

By now, the concept of “spontaneous collaboration space” in the office is starting to fray around the edges. Despite the proliferation of zany themed meeting rooms, sofas, and bars in the workplace, there’s still no recipe for engineering the random encounters and unplanned work that can lead to breakthroughs. Sigi Moeslinger, one half of Antenna Design, says.

“Architects will often specify residential furniture like coffee tables and couches. But spontaneous work still requires work space.”

Moeslinger and her partner, Masamichi Udagawa, have designed Bloomberg terminals, MTA New York City subway cars, and JetBluecheck-in kiosks. But for their latest project, the Japanese-Austrian duo bypassed screens and addressed the people who use them.

Activity Spaces, a line of furniture Antenna designed for Knoll, is designed for mobile employees who are no longer tied to a desktop, relying on tablets or phones instead. Udagawa says.

“Many people don’t have a main computer anymore. But generally, we still need a place to sit and put something.”

A desk or chair hybrid named Toboggan, designed for use with tablets or laptops, is the centerpiece of a new line of Knoll furniture by Antenna Design (Click Image To Enlarge)

The steel tube and bent plywood of the Toboggan looks like a mutated public school desk--it supports a variety of sitting positions plus a place to rest a tablet or notebook (Click Image To Enlarge)

Activity Spaces is built around a desk/chair hybrid named Toboggan. The steel tube and bent plywood contraption looks like a mutated public school desk--its legs wrap in a C from the desk to the ground up to the integrated stool, creating a lightweight structure that supports a variety of sitting positions plus a place to rest a tablet or notebook. Moeslinger says.

“It’s a kind of strange object, and we weren’t sure how people would interact with it.”

But an introduction at NeoCon last year left Antenna pleasantly surprised:

“People would just intuitively take breaks to check their phones.”

She remembers.

“They got into it right away.”

Knoll Activity Spaces include a number of casual workspaces, including semi-secluded seating for open office plans. This image shows other pieces from the collection, which weren’t designed by Antenna (Click Image To Enlarge)

To assuage the constant lack of power outlets, they designed a stainless steel power block that supplies a charge (Click Image To Enlarge)

The lightweight Toboggans are designed to be moved and rearranged throughout the office, which introduced another problem: the inevitable lack of power outlets. So they designed a stainless steel pole dotted with outlets that supplies a charge wherever it’s wheeled.

Here's, the charging pole (Click Image To Enlarge)

There are also small tables and objects that provide a charge for laptops and tablets (Click Imaage To Enlarge)

Other pieces, like a rolling whiteboard and small tables that also provide a charge for laptops, also promote mobility within the office. The idea is to create a spectrum of spaces within the office, rather than the conventional binary of being at your desk or in a meeting.

A whiteboard on wheels is another lo-fi accessory (Click Image To Enlarge)

A view of the toboggan chair with the power pole

In an unexpected way, Antenna’s expertise in interaction design is what makes these plywood-and-plastic objects so intelligent. It’s not so much about the screen, but rather how and where it’s being used. Udagawa told me.

“We approach furniture as an interface. It can modify behavior, and help people make the transition into more open space.”

COMMENTARY: Office workers no longer lay claim to just a small square of real estate but share ownership of all the spaces that support the multiple tasks they are called upon to perform. In the emerging workplace the whole office is my office.

Today’s office contains individual assigned workspaces that Knoll calls primary workspaces, and non-assigned spaces that are held in common and occupied with others as needed, called activity spaces. Primary and activity spaces may be individual or shared, open or enclosed, depending on their intended function. Both primary and activity spaces require broad connectivity with ready access to power and data, and wifi capability.

Primary spaces, which are typically assigned open plan workstations or private offices, are “home base” spaces. Often configured to support heads-down, focus work as well as short interactions with others, primary spaces may be designed explicitly to support shared work as in a two-person workstation with a table between; or to support team work, as in a large table configuration.

Activity spaces are “go to” spaces, that is, destinations for temporary group and individual work. They include:

Refuge for focus work among one or two. dddddddddddddddddddd

Enclave for small group interactions among three or four

Team Meeting for teams of five to eight dddddddddddddddddd

Assembly spaces for conferences, lectures or training

Community areas for informal socializing, eating or collaborating.

While layout, furnishings and technology will differ depending on the intended function of a given space, the sizes of activity spaces by type are relatively constant. Whether spaces support individual work, collaboration or more structured group activities, all must have qualities that make them places where people want to go.

Successful activity spaces attract, adapt and engage. They are appealing and comfortable, offer appropriate furnishings and technology, and provide multiple communication tools. Activity spaces permit individuals and group members to shape their work experience by adjusting and reconfiguring elements in the space, and provide opportunities to express organizational culture.

Activity Spaces Defined (Click Image To Enlarge)

If you would like to learn more about Knoll's Activity Spaces line of communual and collaborative furniture designed for today's mobile workforce, you can download Knoll's Activity Spaces whitepaper by clicking HERE.